News archive

News archive for November of 2008

29 Nov 2008: Japanese national found dead in Lapu-Lapu City

MANILA. Philippines - A Japanese national was found dead Thursday inside his office in the central Philippine city of Lapu-Lapu in Cebu province, a police report said.
The report identified the victim as one Takatoshi Tezoka, 46, a master scuba diver/trainer and a native of Tokyo, Japan. …Source

29 Nov 2008: Scuba Diving in Utahs Desert

In the desert outside Grantsville, Utah, about 10 miles south of the Great Salt Lake, thousands of fish, from flitting minnows to a pair of nine-foot-long nurse sharks, live in the murky saltwater at Bonneville Seabase, an independent experiment in marine biology. Open to snorkelers and scuba divers year round, Seabase has an end-of-the-earth feeling, with no noise and little life. …Source

PENSACOLA - For many scuba divers, the thrill of visiting the sunken aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is touching the flight deck.
But Hurricane Gustav pushed the wreck deeper, putting the deck just out of safe reach of recreational divers and threatening the appeal of the underwater tourist attraction.
When the ship was sunk in May 2006, the flight deck was 135 feet down, five feet outside the recreational diving limit, but instructors said it still was relatively safe for tempted divers to make the touch. …Source

28 Nov 2008: The Waterproof Guide To Scuba Sex

SCUBA diving sex. A how and when guide:
COUPLES often write into his column, asking for advice about how to have sex while scuba diving. Basically, although popular, scuba sex is not recommended. Potential problems include the inhalation of water droplets in horizontal positions (which can lead to chocking), keeping cumbersome equipment in the vertical position, losing buoyancy control when excited, and being unaware of the increased oxygen consumption required.
Stage 2:
If you do wish to have scuba sex, then equipment should always be kept to a minimum. A full wetsuit is not practical, particularly if the zip is on the back. Balance is critical, as trying to grab hold of rocks or coral during sex can cause injury to the diver, and can damage delicate coral reefs. Stinging organisms, spiky sea urchins, stone fish, and scorpion fish are to be particularly avoided. Finally make sure your partner knows the difference between your signs of distress and your signs of excitement. Thrashing about with your arms and legs could be an ambivalent signal. So if you feel you are in danger, we recommend a punch to your partner’s groin. That signal will not be mistaken – British Journal of Sexual Medicine 2008, vol. 31
No underwear required… …Source

27 Nov 2008: Italian breaks breath- hold record

(ANSA) - Mantua, November 26 - An Italian freediver on Wednesday smashed the Guinness world record for static apnea, a sport that made headlines in April after American magician and endurance artist David Blaine set a new record on live television.
Gianluca Genoni held his breath for 18 minutes 3.69 seconds while lying underwater in a Mantua swimming pool, beating German diver Tom Sietas, who managed 17 minutes 19 seconds in September - also on live TV - to unseat Blaine from the Guinness world record book. …Source

26 Nov 2008: Surrey scuba instructor dies at Whytecliff

A scuba instructor died Sunday after giving a morning lesson near Whytecliff Park.
Emergency crews were called at about 10:30 a.m. when four students surfaced following a 100-foot dive to find their instructor in distress. The instructor was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital but was pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack before noon. …Source

25 Nov 2008: Divers in ‘Princess’ retrieval ops to undergo debriefing

MANILA, Philippines - The 17 divers of salvor firm Harbor Star are set to undergo psycho-debriefing tests Wednesday to ensure that they are free from mental stress for their involvement in search and retrieval operations inside the capsized MV Princess of the Stars in Romblon.
Doctors from the Department of Health (DOH) will conduct the psycho-debriefing procedures at the Harbor Star office in Makati City.
“The purpose of the psycho-debriefing is to assess the health condition of the divers and to make sure that they are not suffering from mental stress,” said Rodrigo Bella, Harbor Star project manager. …Source

24 Nov 2008: Last dive was to be `jewel in the crown'

A 67-metre dive to the shipwreck which claimed the life of Blenheim man Kevin Bailey would have been the "jewel in the crown" of his diving career, hundreds of people who gathered for his funeral yesterday heard.
Mr Bailey, 63, known as "Flash" from his time with the RNZAF, was farewelled in the packed Nativity Church.
Minister Terry Terrill said the Holmglen dive was to be the "jewel in the crown" for Mr Bailey.
He said Mr Bailey had spent the last couple of months preparing for the dive. Last week his dream was realised.
Tragedy struck not far from the surface, Mr Terrill said, but the last photos taken of Mr Bailey underwater showed the face of an "elated discoverer". …Source

24 Nov 2008: Diver rescued after suffering back problems

A DIVER was rescued from the sea and taken to Torbay Hospital after suffering back problems.
The 24-year-old woman, from the West of England Diving Club in Bristol, was diving in waters off Brixham breakwater on Sunday when she got into difficulties.
Brixhams pilot boat spotted the woman being brought back to shore by three people in a dingy at about 12.30pm. …Source

24 Nov 2008: Tragedy diver's body to be flown home

The body of a County Durham diving instructor who died while exploring a sunken wreck off Malta is expected to be flown home within days.
Scuba-diver Paul Swain, 49, disappeared while exploring an old ferry on the island of Gozo, Malta.
The diving instructor, who has 20 years' experience, went missing on Monday, November 3, while exploring the MV Xlendi with colleagues from Sub Aqua Sports, based in South Hetton. …Source

23 Nov 2008: Deep-sea observatory launched off Monterey coast

MOSS LANDING, Calif.—Engineers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute are studying 3,000 feet beneath the sea due to a new underwater observatory.
The Monterey Accelerated Research System, or MARS, is the first deep-sea observatory off the continental U.S. …Source

23 Nov 2008: Death of rookie diver could have been avoided

The death of a woman making her first open-water dive in an Argyll bay could have been avoided, a sheriff has ruled.
Lynn Herriot drowned while taking part in the dive at Gallanach Bay, near Oban, with the Newtongrange Branch of the Scottish Sub Aqua Club (SSAC).
In a report published yesterday following a fatal accident inquiry at Oban Sheriff Court, Sheriff Douglas Small made 15 safety recommendations. He said Miss Herriots death might have been avoided, had the precautions been taken. …Source

22 Nov 2008: Former resident mixes diving with marine art

Brian Martin has found a niche in creating art down deep.
Brian Martin, a former International Falls resident, has moved from one border town to another, and plans a return to display his lake related artwork.
Martin is now a commercial diver on the Great Lakes and runs a marine shop near Port Huron, Mich., which borders the Ontario communities of Sarnia and Point Edward. The St. Clair River is the dividing that flows from Lake Huron. …Source

21 Nov 2008: Four Divers Nabbed for Lobster Poaching

Four men in Scuba gear were arrested in two separate incidents of alleged lobster poaching at Woods Cove on Friday and Sunday, a game warden said. …Source

21 Nov 2008: Shipwreck to escape sibling's shadow

Forgotten by many and unheard of by most. Yet the sister-ship of the Titanic is starting to escape from the shadow of the iconic shipwreck.
HMHS Britannic was completed at Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard two years after Titanic was lost in 1912. But she in turn went to the bottom, the victim of enemy action in the First World War.
"After being lost for more than half a century, the Britannic could soon be the biggest attraction in the Mediterranean. Its a very spectacular wreck and a very special one." …Source

20 Nov 2008: Body of Sunnyvale abalone diver found off Sonoma coast

The body of a 29-year-old Sunnyvale man who went missing one week ago while diving for abalone off the Sonoma coast was pulled out of the water Monday afternoon by members of a search and rescue team.
Jonathan Su was found about a quarter of a mile offshore near Fort Ross State Park, according to Lt. Sandy Geaslin of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. Authorities believe Su drowned after getting caught in thick kelp.
A helicopter was searching the area where Su was reported missing when his body was spotted in about 25 feet of water. Su was still wearing his dive suit and weight fins, Geaslin said.
Su had been diving for abalone with his cousin Nov. 9 when he disappeared, according to Jeremy Stinson, a supervising ranger with California State Parks. Su was last seen in waist-deep water but it remains unclear where he was when he went under. …Source

20 Nov 2008: Paralysed diver finds shark-feeding 'unreal'

Nine years ago Nick Chisholm was told he would spend the rest of his life in bed - yesterday he was out diving with sharks.
Nick, 35, has a condition known as locked-in syndrome, where his brain functions normally but his body does not respond.
However, the Dunedin man has not let this stop him from doing one of his great passions - diving.
Nick, along with his brother Aaron, swam with the sharks at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier on Monday. …Source

20 Nov 2008: Diver finds priceless ancient jewellery

A LOCAL diver has found a priceless piece of ancient silver jewellery whilst taking part in a search for a missing person.
Pat Treanor a member of the Boyne Fishermans Rescue and Recovery Service (BFRRS) found what is believed to be a Viking artefact dating back up to 2,000 years during a search of the River Lee.
It is currently being examined by the National Museum of Ireland but is believed to be at least 1,500 years old. …Source

20 Nov 2008: Billingham divers body recovered from wreck

A GRIEVING family today told of their relief after the body of a Teesside diver was finally recovered from a Malta wreck.
Paul Swain.
Experienced diver Paul Swain died on November 3 after he became disorientated in a compartment of the sunken ferry, the Xlendi.
After three days, the search for the 49-year-old engineer from Billingham was suspended and relatives feared his body would never be found.
On Saturday, however, volunteers from the Spider group of the Civil Protection Department discovered his body partially buried in silt in the cafeteria of the vessel. …Source

Russia plans to raise a schooner that sank off the coast of Finland in 1771 with gold, precious porcelain and Dutch paintings for Empress Catherine the Great aboard.
The Frau Maria was commissioned by Catherine the Great to transport precious porcelain, gold, silver, bronze and 27 paintings by Dutch masters for her art collection, which became the basis for the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg. …Source

19 Nov 2008: Body of abalone hunter is recovered off Sonoma County coast

Jonathan Su, 29, of Sunnyvale apparently drowned while diving for the mollusks Nov. 9. He is the eighth abalone hunter to die off Californias North Coast this year.
Reporting from San Francisco -- A submerged body recovered off the coast of Sonoma County was tentatively identified Tuesday as that of missing diver Jonathon Su of Sunnyvale, the eighth abalone hunter to die off the North Coast this year. …Source

18 Nov 2008: Divers launch first underwater cleanup campaign

A group of divers from the Two Moon Diving Club (TMDC) have started the first cleanup campaign of its kind in Yemen- an underwater and beach cleanup. The cleanup campaign began October 30, and lasted two full days on Kamaran Island in the Red Sea.
The first day of cleaning took place underwater as 5 scuba divers scoured an area of half a square kilometer. Waste collected underwater included oilcans, plastic bags, pipes, plastic bottles, shoes, ropes and rusty metals. The team managed to collect 40kg of rubbish during its first dive. …Source

Iranian filmmaker Ayyub Daneshvar has been assigned by the Azerbaijan Republic to direct a documentary on the ancient cities submerged by the Caspian Sea over the years.
“In ‘The Underwater City’ we rediscover the civilizations buried under the Caspian Sea. The sea has risen and fallen many times over the past thousands of years and many cities have been submerged in the process,” Daneshvar explained. …Source

18 Nov 2008: Worlds 1st Underwater Museum Planned for Egypt

Mention underwater archeological treasures and most people will think of shipwrecks full of chests of gold from far corners of the earth.
However, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), together with the Egyptian government, is now planning to show the world that underwater archeology can be much more, by building the worlds first underwater museum to show the rich cultural and historical heritage that can be found under the Bay of Alexandria in northern Egypt. …Source

18 Nov 2008: Scuba greats to be honoured

The International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame announced at the Dive Equipment and Marketing Association trade show in the US that it will induct six extraordinary new members this coming January.
Joining the ranks of famous divers such as Jacques–Yves Cousteau, Gustav Dalla Valle, Sylvia A. Earle, and Bob Soto will be an important historical contributor, an avid photographer turned manufacturer, a celebrated divemaster, a photographer who named Stingray City, and two brothers with an invention that significantly improved underwater filming.
The celebration of these honourees began at DEMA and The Dinner and Induction Ceremony will be held on January 29 next year where these pioneers, artists and entrepreneurs will be formally inducted for their outstanding contributions to the sport. …Source

17 Nov 2008: Recovery operation for divers body to continue tomorrow

Civil Protection personnel and volunteers postponed the recovery operation for the body of British diver Paul Swain to tomorrow morning because of problems they had manouvering the corpse out of a hatch.
The CPD located the divers body, who went missing two weeks ago, yesterday morning but plans to recover the body in the afternoon had to be shelved due to poor visibility with the operation postponed to today. …Source

17 Nov 2008: 4 divers die while cleaning Mexico water duct

Four scuba divers died while performing maintenance in an aqueduct that supplies Mexico City, authorities reported Sunday.
The Security Agency of Mexico State, which border Mexico City, said the men were experienced divers maintaining a huge underground line just west of the capital.
Police divers recovered the bodies and state prosecutors said they were investigating the cause of the accident.
Flow through the aqueduct had been stopped prior to maintenance, but the tunnel was still full of water. …Source

17 Nov 2008: Man from York County dies in Fla. diving accident

Robin Hartranft of Dallastown said her husband agreed to call before he'd go off on one of his dangerous diving outings.
Before he went diving last week, Joseph Christian Hartranft left a message for her and their two youngest daughters. He said he loved them, and he'd call back when he returned safely.
That second call never came.
The bodies of Joseph Christian Hartranft, 52, and Yessic Kozay Spencer, 42, were found Wednesday evening in the School Sink, a popular cave diving destination in west Florida. The two had been exploring underwater caves.
Hartranft and Spencer, a Marine who was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, had been missing since Tuesday. On Wednesday, cave divers searched for the men after authorities discovered one of their vehicles near the sinkhole.
Its unclear how they died, but investigators are treating the incident as an accident. …Source

16 Nov 2008: Missing divers body is located

The body of a missing scuba diver, who disappeared in a Marion County diving hole on Saturday while on a guided tour, has been recovered.
Sean Patrick Spiegel, 25, was diving at The Grotto, a natural diving hole, when he strayed from the team and remained about 90 feet below the surface, according to a spokesperson with the Marion County Sheriffs Office.
After a diligent search conducted over two days by the Marion County Sheriffs Office Dive Team, along with other professional divers, Spiegel was located 105 feet below the surface. …Source

15 Nov 2008: Sunnyvale abalone diver still missing

Authorities have stopped actively searching the kelp-clogged water in Fort Ross Cove for the body of abalone diver Jonathan Su.
Sonoma County sheriffs Lt. Scott Dunn said the departments dive team searched the area Tuesday but the thick kelp made searching for Su unsafe even for divers wearing oxygen tanks. …Source

15 Nov 2008: Body of missing diver found

The body of a British diver who went missing during an expedition to a shipwreck off Xlendi, 12 days ago has been recovered by the divers of the Civil Protection department.
His body was half- buried in silt in the wreck of the MV Xlendi. Paul Swain, 49, was a scuba instructor who flew to Malta two weeks ago to explore the wreck of the MV Xlendi in Gozo. …Source

14 Nov 2008: The body of a diver missing off the coast of Timaru has been discovered, a day after a search for him was called off.

Kevin Bailey, 63, was reported missing on Monday afternoon by two companions while diving at the Holmglen wreck.
Sergeant Paul Scoble says Mr Bailey's body was discovered on Thursday when it became caught in a trawler's net.
Mr Scoble says the death has been referred to the coroner. …Source

14 Nov 2008: Shipwrecks discovery leads to dispute

Madrid: Deep sea treasure hunters have located two potentially valuable wrecks lying off the west coast of Ireland, opening the way for a legal battle over who owns treasure deposited on the seabed in international waters. … Read more …

13 Nov 2008: Missing cave divers' bodies found in sinkhole

HUDSON — Just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, a rescue team slipped into a giant sinkhole in search of two underwater cave divers missing since Tuesday.
Less than a half-hour later, rescuers discovered two bodies.
One of the men was found about 50 feet from the surface, the other in a side tunnel farther down, said Pasco Sheriffs Office spokesman Kevin Doll.
Why the two divers perished was a mystery Wednesday night.
"They dont know exactly what went wrong at this point," Doll said. …Source

12 Nov 2008: Missing diver search called off

The search for a diver missing off the Timaru coast since Monday has been suspended after intensive search efforts failed to find him.
Two rescue helicopters, an aircraft and several vessels were looking for Blenheim dive shop owner Kevin Bailey, 63, after he was reported missing about 2.30pm on Monday while diving on the wreck of the Holmglen - about 20 nautical miles (36km) off the Timaru coast. …Source

11 Nov 2008: Old shipwreck may have claimed another life after 49 years

An old shipwreck off the coast of Timaru may have claimed another life, 49 years after it sank and killed its entire crew of 15.
Two days of searching have failed to find any trace of diver Kevin Winston Bailey, 63, of Blenheim, who disappeared yesterday while surfacing from a dive on the wreck of the coastal trader, Holmglen. …Source

10 Nov 2008: Search continues for missing diver

A search is continuing for a diver who went missing off the coast of Timaru on Monday when diving near the wreck of the Holmglen.
The diver went missing about 3pm while diving from a fishing vessel near the Holmglen about 36km of the Timaru coast.
The Holmglen, a Wellington-based vessel, sank off the Timaru coast on November 24, 1959. All 15 officers and crew on board died. …Source

9 Nov 2008: Diver feared dead in sunken wreck

A DIVER is missing and presumed dead after becoming trapped in a sunken wreck while on an expedition.
Family and friends of Paul Swain, 49, fear his body may never be found.
The scuba instructor flew to Malta last week to explore the wreck of the MV Xlendi on the island of Gozo.
He and nine others from the Sub Aqua Sports Association, based in South Hetton, County Durham, were exploring the wreck, an old ferry which has been turned into a diving attraction. …Source

9 Nov 2008: Britannic wreck to be attraction

The Britannic, sister ship of the Titanic and wrecked off a Greek Island in 1916, could become an underwater tourist attraction. …Source

8 Nov 2008: Body was found floating of Pulau Hantu with scuba tank still strapped onto him

A TRAINEE diver whose decomposed body was recovered three days after he went missing at Pulau Hantu had a scuba tank that was filled with toxic gases.
Mr Sue Qing Wens body was found floating in the sea off the island on Feb 20 last year with the compressed air tank still strapped onto his body.
The tank, which should have contained 80 per cent oxygen and 90 per cent nitrogen, was found instead to have 785 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide and 12.3 ppr of hydrogen sulphide. …Source

7 Nov 2008: Shipwrecks get funding

Western Australia will get a share of a new $440,000 government grant to preserve notable shipwrecks, including the HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran.
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett today announced the grant as part of the Historic Shipwrecks Program to protect the nation’s underwater cultural heritage. … Read more …

7 Nov 2008: Limbless heroes thrilled at scuba diving challenge

LIMBLESS ex-servicemen and women have taken the plunge to experience the thrill of scuba diving. …Source

6 Nov 2008: Another diver dies off the Keys

A dive accident claimed the life of a Clearwater man Saturday off the Middle Keys.
The death of John Taylor, 67, was the second dive-related death in Keys waters in a three-day period this week. According to initial reports from the Monroe County Sheriffs Office, Taylor was diving with his girlfriend as his dive buddy off the commercial boat Seafari from Duck Key.
While underwater, Taylor reportedly signaled her that he was low on air and surfaced. His girlfriend said Taylor fell unconscious and sank beneath the surface.
The pair apparently had drifted some distance from the boat. The boat crew called for assistance when the couple didn't return as scheduled from the afternoon dive.
Other boaters and divers began searching, and the woman was located about a mile from the dive boat, according to initial reports.
Divers found Taylors body on the sea floor. It was brought to shore and turned over to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. …Source

6 Nov 2008: As Oriskany sinks further, divers risk going deeper

Diving the Oriskany was the clincher for New York resident Bradley Gaiser.
It was part of the reason the 47-year-old master scuba diver and his new bride wanted their wedding in Pensacola last weekend.
Hed made the dive before. He'd traveled through the top of the impressive sunken wreck. He'd seen the array of marine life.
But this time he was back to touch the infamous flight deck.
"A lot of my students want to know how deep I can go," Gaiser said. "There's no reason to go down there other than to say that I did it."
At 135 feet, the sunken aircraft carrier's flight deck was already five feet outside the recreational diving limit, but instructors said it was still relatively safe for tempted divers to make the touch …Source

6 Nov 2008: Divers locate war disaster shipwreck

THE wreck of a vessel at the centre of one of the biggest Second World War maritime disasters off Scotland's coast has finally been located.
On 12 March, 1942, 47 lives were lost when the St Briac, a former cross-Channel ferry attached to HMS Condor at Arbroath, hit a mine off the Angus coast and sank. …Source

5 Nov 2008: Divers discover lost shipwreck

DIVERS HAVE located the wreck of a ship that sank off the Angus coast with the loss of 47 lives in Dundees worst maritime disaster of the second world war. …Source

5 Nov 2008: Diver died after surfacing too quickly, inquest told

AN INQUEST has heard how a 49-year-old English woman died at the start of a diving holiday with her family off the Magharee Islands, off Co Kerry, last year, when she surfaced too quickly.
On August 6th, 2007, they set off for their first day's dive with a group from the Harbour House Diving Centre, Fahamore, in Castlegregory, Co Kerry. They had booked to go diving twice a day for the next five days.
The first dive by the group of 12 went well and after a rest of about half an hour they moved further along the coast to the area known locally as "The Post Box" off the islands of the Magharees.
However, during this second dive, the dive leader lost sight of the family, made them resurface after a short time and checked their air and then told Mr and Mrs Wiggins to form a buddy pair. They descended again to 15m below water but "lost buoyancy". Janice went "straight to the top", while Mr Wiggins rested at 5m from the top, and after two to three minutes he joined his wife on the surface.
She had become tired and he went to offer her support but she sank out of sight and grabbed his regulator. Mr Wiggins said they were not experienced divers. He also said he was satisfied the dive crew did all that was necessary.
The dive boat was alongside immediately and Mrs Wiggins was found within minutes lying on her back on the sea bed. The regulator was not in her mouth and her oxygen tank was empty, the inquest was told.
She was given emergency oxygen and resuscitation all the way to the shore, but at about 2.30pm she was pronounced dead at the diving centre. …Source

4 Nov 2008: Diver goes missing in Gozo

The search for a 49-year-old British diver who went missing yesterday is expected to resume this morning, this newspaper has learnt.
A spokesman from the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said the search and rescue operation involved seven divers, but had to be suspended due to bad weather.
The man went missing while diving with at least one other person off Xatt l-Ahmar in Gozo. Neither the police, nor the AFM, however, could confirm whether there were actually any other divers accompanying the British man. …Source

4 Nov 2008: Divers find 1893 Erie wreck 'in remarkable condition'

A ship sunk by a fierce autumn storm 115 years ago has been discovered in Lake Erie, 25 miles north of Cleveland.
The 133-foot schooner Riverside was among a dozen sunken vessels and more than 50 deaths left in the wake of the storm, which blew across the Great Lakes in 1893.
"It's in remarkable condition," said Tom Kowalczk, a diver with Cleveland Underwater Explorers Inc. …Source

3 Nov 2008: Diver's body found off Sunshine Coast

Policer divers have recovered the body of a spear fisherman who drowned off the Sunshine Coast this morning.
The 21-year-old man went missing about 9:30am AEST while free diving with two friends from a boat near a shipping marker about two kilometres off Caloundra.
Water police spokesman Sergeant Kyle Bates says he was an experienced diver and an investigation is underway.
"According to his family hes quite experienced in free diving," he said. …Source

2 Nov 2008: Woman dies in diving accident

A scuba diver died Saturday after something went wrong during a morning dive off Sambro Island.
The 28-year-old woman was brought ashore by a coast guard rescue boat at about 11:30 a.m. and rushed to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax in critical condition.
She was pronounced dead at hospital. Her name wasnt released.
The woman was picked up by crew from the coast guard cutter Sambro about 1.6 kilometres southwest of Sambro Island, said navy Capt. Edward Stewart, spokesman for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
She had been diving from the boat Ryan & Erin, Capt. Stewart said. …Source

1 Nov 2008: Diver rescued off Alki

A diver was pulled from the water Saturday morning after he was reported missing, the Seattle Fire Department reported.
Firefighters got the report of the missing diver just before 11 a.m. and dispatched a fire boat. They arrived to find that two other divers in the area had already found the missing diver and brought him to the surface.
The 25-year-old man was taken to Harborview Medical Center. He was unconcscious when he was removed from the water and firefighters provided CPR. His current condition was unavailable. …Source

1 Nov 2008: Deep sea submarine pioneer dies

Swiss-based marine explorer and inventor Jacques Piccard, who was part of the deepest submarine dive in history, has died at his home aged 86.
In 1960, Piccard and US co-pilot Don Walsh took a submersible developed by his father to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific.
They went 11km (seven miles) beneath the surface of the sea. …Source

1 Nov 2008: NC Woman Dies In FL On Diving Trip

Key Largo, FL -- Authorities say a North Carolina woman died after diving in waters off Key Largo.
The Monroe County Sheriffs Office says 51-year-old Joanne Page of Concord, N.C., and her boyfriend got caught in strong currents and rough waters Thursday. They tried for 30 minutes to swim back to their dive boat. Her boyfriend, Eugene Jackson of Salisbury, N.C., told authorities Page fell behind and when he looked back, her head was underwater.
The boat crew called the Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for help looking for the couple. Jackson, still struggling, was rescued. Page was pronounced dead at the scene. …Source